This section provides background information related to the present invention, which is not necessarily prior art.
Concomitant with generalization of wide use of various mobile terminals, and commercialization of wireless internet services, demands by consumers related to mobile terminals are also diversified to allow various types of peripheral devices to be mounted on the mobile terminals.
Among the representative items thereof, there is mentioned a camera module capturing a subject in a picture or a video.
A camera module can perform an AF function automatically adjusting a focus in response to a distance to a subject and an OIS function correcting handshake of a user when a subject is captured.
A general camera module performs an AF function and an OIS function using a lens driving device. The lens driving device is a device activating a lens module in response to an electromagnetic interaction between a coil and a magnet and may be called a VCM (Voice Coil Motor).
Meantime, a dual camera module is a camera module that comprises two single camera modules, where two or more images captured by each single camera module are combined to generate a composite image having a high resolution or a high resolving power and a high MTF (Modulation Transfer Function). However, the conventional dual camera module suffers from a disadvantage in that there is generated an electromagnetic interference between lens driving devices.
Moreover, the lens driving device suffers another disadvantage in that lots of installation spaces are occupied due to assembly formed with lots of parts. As a result, there may be generated a design-wise difficulty in proximately arranging single camera modules. Furthermore, when a single camera module at one side is used to drive a lens driving device in order to inhibit the aforementioned disadvantages, a single camera module at the other side cannot perform an AF function to thereby deteriorate the quality of composite image.
As the technologies of camera are advanced, a variety of cameras are developed that enhance user conveniences. For example, a dual camera module is being spotlighted where a front camera and a rear camera are simultaneously operated to respectively capture a front subject and a rear subject for combination as one image, or subjects respectively captured by a general angle and a wide angle are combined as one image.
However, the dual camera module still suffers disadvantages in that two hardware devices are required in order to operate two cameras to thereby increase the weight of camera, and to increase the manufacturing cost. Therefore, the thing is that development of a device and a method configured to operate a dual camera module using a single hardware is urgently required.